Africa-Press – Botswana. Residents of Paje have been cautioned against land transfers between individuals only for transferers to return to the land board for another allocation.
The residents were told to desist from that as the new secure land title certificate was not only overloading the land board but also a costly exercise.
This was highlighted by a land board official, Mr Moses Kesamang, during the issuance of the first Secure Land Title certificate handing over ceremony at Paje Subordinate Land Board on Friday.
Mr Kesamang told the people who have been allocated land, especially those who received the new Secure Land Title certificate, that the Tribal Land Act forbids one individual to be allocated more than one piece of land in Botswana and that those who transferred their land will never be allocated another land.
He said this certificate was a treasure because it was not done by the land board but by the Deeds Registry and was the same as a title deed. He added that it enabled every Motswana to have their own title without having to go through the difficult process of paying for survey.
He said some of the advantages about this new Secure Land Title was that it could be used as security to acquire financial assistance from banks, mortgages and other funding.
Mr Kesamang encouraged the recipients to value the certificates and ensure that they do not loose them. If lost,a title holder will be required to pay P1500 to replace and endure the long process of waiting for long for a new title.
He said this process of making a new certificate involved a lot of government departments, hence one must treasure the ones issued.
Mr Kesamang explained that the certificate bore a lot of security features that differed from one another to protect it. He explained that every certificate was unique and hindered fraudsters from making their own and cheating people with fake ones.
Land was not growing but the population continued to grow, and hence people should treasure the land allocated to them and jealously guard and protect it.
Mr Kesamang explained that this has forced them to reduce the size of the plot to the current size to spare for future generations.
“We all understand at first one would chose the size for themselves, went on to cut 60 by 40, reduced to 35 by 20 and still reducing because of the population increase we experience as a country so as to accommodate for most of the people.’’
Mr Kesamang encouraged those who have not registered their plots to do so for the land board to process, print them so that they can be left with the job of printing for the recent allotees.
One of the recipients of the new Secure Land Title, Ms Goabaone Pilatwe, expressed gratitude to the Paje Subordinate Land Board for allocating her the plot which she intends to develop and turn it into her permanent place of residence closer to her home in Serowe.
She encouraged other residents to apply for land and for plot owners to register them so they could be issued new certificates.
Ms Pilatwe said the Secure Land Title was important and must be handled with care.
She added that the recipients must make use of it to improve their lives.
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